All-out Support for Striking Nurses

Nurses defend their strike action against attacks from the government, employers and BLP aligned trade union leaders

Submitted by Tee White

On Wednesday 16 December after a meeting of the Social Partnership which brings together the government, employers and trade unions, Prime Minister Mia Mottley hosted a press conference in which she unleashed a scathing attack on the striking nurses and, in particular, Caswell Franklyn, the opposition senator who is also the leader of the Unity Workers Union (UWU) which represents the striking nurses. Prime Minister Mottley accused the nurses of prematurely initiating strike action without following the accepted procedures and accused their leader of using the strike action to further his own political ambitions. She further denounced the UWU leader for encouraging its members to abandon patients and declared that since the nurses were on strike, the government would dock their pay.

The Prime Minister’s attack on the striking nurses was, not surprisingly, fully supported by the Barbados Private Sector Association but, more surprisingly, also backed by the leaders of various trade unions including the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP), the Barbados Nurses Association (BNA), the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) and the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB). Openly violating the basic principles of working class solidarity, which as leaders of workers’ organisations they are supposed to uphold, these trade union leaders distanced themselves from the striking nurses and made common cause with the government and employers in their attacks on the nurses. The members of these unions will need to hold these leaders to account for their betrayal of basic trade union principles.

In the face of the onslaught from the government and the forces it had mobilised against them, the nurses have held their ground and more nurses are joining them in the strike action in defence of their rights. The trigger for the dispute was a botched attempt by the government to introduce its mandatory Covid 19 vaccination policy under the guise of ‘safe zones’ at the geriatric hospital. The management of this institution put up a notice at work identifying unvaccinated nurses who would have to undergo weekly PCR tests. The UWU had previously made it clear to the management that any attempt to impose the mandatory vaccination policy, without consultation with the union, would be met with strike action. Although the Ministry of Health backed down and stated that the management of the geriatric hospital had acted prematurely since the mandatory vaccination rollout had not yet been approved, this action nevertheless triggered the nurses to take a stand on a number of other issues which had remained unresolved for years. These included better pay, better working conditions, health insurance, continuous training and better nurse to patient ratios. These are issues which the nurses have been raising for years and which successive governments, including the current one, have failed to address. Therefore, any claim that the nurses initiated strike action prematurely is clearly false. In fact, the nurses have put up with unacceptable conditions for too long and it is the government who is in the dock on this issue. Speaking about her lived reality in the Barbados health care system, one nurse declared, “We are standing in solidarity with our colleagues against the authorities trying to implement safe zones without consultation with us. We also have our own grievances at Edgar Cochrane, such as not having enough resources – gloves, blood collection bottles, gauze.

Enough is enough. Imagine having to tell a patient they have to buy their own catheter bag; some of our patients can barely afford the bus fare to get to us”. Another nurse complained that nurse to patient ratios could sometimes reach 1 to 32 patients to nurse per day while the suggested ratio is 1 to 6. Directly addressing the despicable claim by the Prime Minister that the union had encouraged the nurses to abandon their patients, Kathy Ann Holder, a registered nurse of 12 years declared, “The whole entire time, never have we abandoned or left our patients for the last two years, with or without pay, with or without the testing, with or without the vaccine when there was none”. In fact, another nurse made the point that the nurses’ struggle is actually aimed to benefit the patients, when she stated, “We are not only standing up for ourselves, but for the patients too”.

In the face of the just cause of the nurses, the government has initiated extreme measures to suppress their’ struggle. On the 18 December, the UWU claimed that the government had put a freeze on some striking nurses’ bank accounts to prevent them accessing some of their money in addition to not paying them their December salary. Director of Finance, Ian Carrington denounced the claims as “total and complete foolishness and utter rubbish”. However, a recording of a nurse speaking to her bank and asking why a portion of her bank balance was unavailable has been circulating on social media. In the recording, the bank’s customer service representative explains to the nurse that her money has been frozen because the government of Barbados had placed a hold on a portion of the money in her account. In the lead up to the holiday period, the oppressive measures of the government against the nurses must be condemned and they give the lie to the Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s claim that she would not “unfair workers”.

The attack on the striking nurses by the current BLP government reflects the fundamental anti-working class nature of this government and is consistent with its attacks on the hotel workers when they were protesting to get their severance payments. While praising the working class activism of Clement Payne and the martyrs of 1937, the government is hell bent on crushing the struggle of the workers for their rights in 2021. Although they claim that it is the leader of the UWU that is using the nurses’ strike for political ends, they are actually the ones who have called on all the political parties in the country to condemn the nurses.

The cause of the nurses is just and the efforts of the government to suppress them are unjust. All out to support the nurses in their struggle!!

294 thoughts on “All-out Support for Striking Nurses


  1. TheO

    The Cops were denied promotion under the Ds
    How you mean Dont bring B and D talk when thats the issue of the lack of promotion and the now settlement?


  2. TronDecember 25, 2021 10:10 AMTourism is booming like never before thanks to Mia Mottley. Soon we will be debt-free, provided we make two or three more debt cuts with our naïve local bond holders.

    LOL You naughty fellow. But nail on the head, debt reduction, in the light of current economic fundamentals, can only occur with direct cuts in face value of major debt.

    Aka,..local bonds are worthless, as mentioned in another article comment. Money pun de plantation, stays pun de plantation.


  3. Striking nurses talks fall through

    By Colville Mounsey colvillemounsey@nationnews.com
    Hopes for an end to the impasse between striking nurses and Government by Christmas have been dashed.
    Head of the Unity Workers’ Union, Senator Caswell Franklyn, the man who has led the three-week-long industrial action, told the Sunday Sun that plans for an intermediary to broker a peace have fallen through. Franklyn said a meeting was scheduled for 9.30 a.m. on Christmas Eve, but half an hour before the scheduled start time, he received correspondence from Minister of Health and Wellness The Most Honourable Jeffrey Bostic that Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley would sanction the meeting on condition that the striking nurses returned to work.
    The outspoken trade unionist made it clear that this was not something he was prepared to do and, therefore, the industrial action would continue into its fourth week.
    “When Minister Bostic called me, he was pleading with me to have a meeting because he wanted these people back out to work. He then asked for a list of things that we wanted to discuss and as I was already preparing a letter to be sent to the Prime Minister, I sent him a copy of that, which included a list of our concerns. So, I was surprised that half an hour before the meeting he sent me this letter via WhatsApp cancelling the meeting,” Franklyn explained.
    According to the documents provided by Franklyn, Bostic’s correspondence stated: “I have sent your letter to the Prime Minister and she is going to respond to you. Regrettably, your members are still on strike and as such we are unable to meet under those conditions. We will be able to meet at your earliest convenience once you indicate in writing that the workers will be returning to duty and this is validated by the persons in charge of our facilities.”
    Franklyn said he made it clear in his reply that the nurses would not be standing down, arguing that such rules of engagement were established in Barbados by another union and he had no intention of abiding by those protocols.
    “I told them don’t wait for that. They call that normal industrial relations practice but it is not. This was developed by [another union] and I don’t know of such procedures in any other jurisdiction . . . I told him [Bostic] that this was the procedure of [another union] and I don’t work for that entity. It simply does not exist anywhere else and those procedures will not dictate how I do industrial relations. If the minister wants to meet with us, he can do so and if we are satisfied with the outcome, then we will
    call off the strike,” he said.
    Franklyn had disclosed on Wednesday that an intermediary had agreed to take the union’s case to the Government, noting at the time that he was confident of some traction on the impasse, thereby increasing the chances of ending the strike. At the time he said he was confident that the individual would have the ear of the Government, a situation that would augur well for a return to normalcy.
    However, the trade unionist said that with the latest development, any prospect of mediation now lies in abeyance.
    “I spoke to the intermediary and I told them what happened and basically now that this happened, it would appear that those efforts are collapsing. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector is taking a hit. You have the hospital short of persons to run the shifts and it is chaos, even though the Government may want to hide the true impact from the public,” Franklyn said.
    This newspaper made several efforts to reach Bostic on Friday in order to ascertain Government’s side of the account but was unsuccessful.

    Source: Nation


  4. Unionist: Nurses’ strike action ‘still unclear’

    By Tony Best As the three-week nurses’ strike drags on, a Barbadian who is a top official of a major New York trade union has expressed concern about what was happening with the front line health care workers.
    Earl Phillips, who is the financial secretary and treasurer of the influential Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents 46 000 bus and train employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Administration, said while he was “unclear” about the details of the strike, he was worried there wasn’t any discernable effort to get the two sides – striking nurses who belong to the Unity Workers’ Union (UWU) led by Caswell Franklyn, and the Government – around the table striving to settle the dispute.
    “What we are seeing here is the union leader, (Caswell Franklyn) in the media but we are not seeing the mobilisation of the nurses on the street,” said Phillips in Brooklyn, his union’s headquarters. “We are just seeing the union leader in the media but we are not getting much information on that. We are unclear about what’s happening there as it pertains to why is it that union leaders are in the media every day but we have not seen them at the table talking with the Government.”
    When it came to the issue of nurses going on strike, Phillips was quick to insist that all workers had a right to go on strike, noting “one of the last things you wouldn’t like to see is front-line people striking” “That’s why it is imperative that you get to the table and speak to Government (so) that any time you get off from the table there is a deal done. You don’t ever want to have nurses or your frontline workers striking,” he stressed.
    He said there must be a realisation “that whenever you call a strike with your front-line workers there is going to be a lot of pain in any country” and that was why it was crucial to utilise the power of strike action in the hands of front-line workers “sensibly”.
    Phillips asked if the UWU was ever recognised by the Government as the nurses’ bargaining agent, a key factor before strike action. He wanted to know if the Government had ever “sat down” with Franklyn, the UWU leader and discussed the list of grievances before nurses went on strike.
    “These are the things that are unclear to us. If the Government had never sat down with him (Franklyn) as the person supposed to be bargaining for that union, then there is a problem. It was imperative for the UWU leader to
    have had a conversation first with the Government,” he said.
    In such circumstances, added Phillips, “the Government has the right to say ‘we never bargained with you (UWU), so why should we talk to you (now)’. In this case the only persons who would suffer were the union membership”, added Phillips.
    He said it was, therefore, “imperative” for the union to be at the table as the recognised bargaining unit for the current striking nurses.
    Meanwhile, Winston Cox, a former Governor of Barbados’ Central Bank, expressed regret that at a time when the country was battling the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were on strike and called on both sides to try and settle the dispute.
    Without faulting either side – the striking nurses or the Government for the impasse – Cox said action must be taken to end the dispute.
    “All efforts should be made to resolve the strike,” insisted Cox, who said the nation’s nurses were working under strenuous conditions and in his view were among

    Source: Nation


  5. By their fruits

    There is a well-known scripture that says, “by their fruits you shall know them”.
    I am not easily swayed by words as I am wary of those masters of speech who can easily sell ice to an Eskimo. Instead, I have long based my assessment of persons on their repeated and consistent actions because belief often translates into behaviour.
    We can only hide behind our words for so long.
    I don’t need a government (or anyone) to perform perfectly, as that is an impossible standard.
    But I expect that when they make mistakes (which they inevitably will) that they will own the mistakes, apologise where necessary and take remedial steps. Unfortunately, this is rare for any government. Instead, governments often justify, deny or downplay their mistakes. Then there is the ever-popular strategy of deflecting to another topic to change the news cycle. Our current administration is no stranger to these strategies.
    Did you enjoy your “No-Vat Monday”, for which even the retailers received very short notice? Criticism against the Government for its stance against the nurses had increased in the days preceding. I had hoped the Government would have conceded its errors and sought to meet with the UWU and its members to bring an end to the strike action. Instead, in what may have been a poignant move by the Government against its most vocal political opponent, a meeting was convened with the BNA to address the concerns that were brought to the fore by Senator Franklyn and his union. The very concerns that the Government and the unions in unison had stated were ill-timed and should be addressed at a later date.
    Should we pretend that the convening of the meeting at this time (rather than at a later date) was not in some way influenced by the continuing strike action that the BNA had condemned? Yet the meeting was held in the absence of the UWU while the BNA benefited from the meeting that was precipitated by the very strike action to which it had objected.
    How can the minister claim that the move was not divisive? By their fruits you shall know them.
    Discourage workers
    Why has this Government shown a willingness to meet with any other union but the UWU? Is it sidelining the UWU to indirectly discourage workers from joining that union? Is it because the union is headed by their most vocal political opponent? How is the continual refusal to meet with the striking nurses good industrial practice, especially when a meeting could bring an end to this ongoing strife that has negatively impacted the health sector and the vaccination drive?
    Or is the refusal politically motivated? Is this a classic example of cutting off your nose to spite your face?
    By their fruits you shall know them.
    I have said in my previous articles that both sides are guilty of failing to engage in good industrial practices.
    The very fact that Minister Bostic conceded in the press conference held last Monday that there had been repeated instances of nurses being unpaid, having inadequate supplies and uniforms and working in buildings that are not cleaned as thoroughly or regularly as they should are examples of how this Government, as an employer, has failed to engage in good industrial practices.
    The minister’s agreement to deal with the issues raised also shows that the concerns raised by the nurses were legitimate.
    It is time to bring this ongoing strife to an end and put the needs of the nurses and of this country above all else. Whether a meeting or compromise eventually takes place will be telling. By their fruits you shall know them.
    Speaking of fruits, I hope the fruits in your black cake were well soaked in wine and rum and helped to bring you much needed Christmas cheer.
    We can all admit that 2021 was a rough year and some merriment is in order.
    Season’s greetings to all!
    Michelle M. Russell is an attorney at law with a passion for employment law and labour matters and a social activist.
    Email: mrussell.ja@gmail.com.

    Source: Nation


  6. Ya would think that the evil plan to trap workers on marijuanaslave plantations have FALLEN THROUGH and the whole world
    now knows it that they would humble themselves but no. The enemy is showing its head by deliberately sabotaging the intermemediary attempt to end the impasse. When wannabe dictators/liars and slave masters show you who they really are…believe them.. ,,bullshit fast slick talk laced with lies no longer holds sway for the intelligent.. By the seeds they sow you shall know them.
    Only limited intellect slaves like shit talk.

    https://www.nationnews.com/2021/12/26/striking-nurses-talks-fall/


  7. Assbackward…people talk and NEGOTIATE BEFORE going back to work NOT AFTER ..it is clear that an attempt is being made to show bad faith. Tricks are for kids.

    Tiktok says the election clock.


  8. One man’s opinion
    Garth Patterson gets this week award. His contribution raises some question that no one wants to touch with a ten feet pole.

    Honorable mention: MR surprised me this morning. She made direct contact and was quite fair in her reporting. A good summary and a good read.

    Will I get back the time I wasted. AG is still celebrating Xmas. An irrelevant read.

    EA, a good start but got lost down memory lane. EA was injured whilst patting himself on the back. Both arm and back are injured. This person has a tendency to make himself a central character no matter what the topic is. Started off with some Canadian law and ended up as a biography.


  9. That no ball was hit out of the ground by Russell, Michelle not Andre!

    Yes, the attitude on display is one of master:servant, where the servants must accept whatever conditions they are left to work in.

    Everybody knows the nurses have several serious and legitimate grievances that have been ignored for decades now. My mother retired twenty-five years ago and some of them were around since then.

    How else are they supposed to get them addressed?

    Time for an attitude reset. They have put the cart before the horse. How can you fix the world powers that be before you fix yourself?

    Does Mia not understand the mistake she is making here?

    You cannot treat your own people in an unjust manner while demanding that others treat them justly!


  10. The mere fact that Bostic, the supposed Minister of Health cannot set his own agenda is enlightening to say the least. Colonel Bostic may have once been a soldier, but he now appears to be even less than a cub scout. Seems like the soldier has retreated and surrendered, and an eunuch now leads the Ministry.

    It is time to do the most honourable thing, Lieutenant Colonel.


    • @Raw Bake

      With an election to come soon dealing with Caswell and Unity is bigger than a lame duck serving minister of health.


    • What is interesting here is the aged old convention of workers returning to work if both sides agree to meet seems to be disregarded in this case by Caswell. Does his union and workers have the staying power? Time will tell. It is always about the politics above what is right.


  11. David
    Caswell says that “aged old convention” was established by another union and he is not in the “monkey see ,monkey do” business.
    To besides, other than long talk, wuh de nurses ever get from following that aged old convention?
    Like Tarrus Riley seh , “Babylon too tricky and them moving well slippery”

    The longer it drags on the worst the Government is going to look and it will only be a matter of time before it really gets “political”.

    Sunset legislation still got people’s mout bend-twist.


  12. @ David
    Where can you site the convention or aged old practice that workers go back to work when both sides “ agree” to meet. Workers go back to work when an agreement is reached . There is no reason to end a strike or action because there is an agreement to meet. An agreement to meet is simply that. In this case they met and then tried to “ con” Caswell to instruct the nurses to return to work with no real “agreement”to the nurses’ concerns.
    Like I said from the beginning Caswell is not beyond repute . But BS by any other name is still BS.


  13. @ Theo
    He certainly went to great lengths to prove he is not a “sycophant”. Even the high and mighty have to remind the political elite how much they are admired.
    Nowaday, I find that anybody who criticizes Mottley in one breath has to remind her how much they love her in the next. It’s called covering your ass.


  14. The strike was about the sade zone _ they were Delayed/ cancelled

    Some In Jere then made it about Late payments – yet the nursesxwe paid up until dec. – when the strike was called

    So what is themain issue for the strike?

    Is there an agreement with the major unions on the latest time a Late pament should be made ?


  15. William…goes to show how all of them DELIBERATELY IGNORED best labor practices FOR DECADES…no wonder the workers are still treated as Slaves and the criminal employers see themselves as their masters…there are NO BEST PRACTICES adhered to as recognized by ILO…they just make up any old shit as they go along to impress and please disrespectful wannabe slave master employers..

    since when does a scheduled meeting signal that workers should go return to work….this does NOT HAPPEN IN THE REAL WORLD…maybe only in la la land…but nowhere else.

    these are the same ones ran onto a world stage telling European and North American countries what they should and should’nt do and what they are doing wrong but cannot see themselves and FIX THE DUMBSHIT THEY THEMSELVES ARE DOING…..steupppps…..they were also warned about that.


  16. @ David
    I ain’t seeking no frigging debate . Since Caswell apparently has the upper hand they want to now accuse him of breaking some non existent convention.
    I can’t recall port workers going back to work because the BWU agreed to meet or met on a grievance. They went back after an agreement was reached.Then the port reopened. What you are calling an age old practice may be just a strategy dependent on circumstances. As Caswell correctly stated it is nothing that he has to accept.
    No debate expected needed or required – just the damn facts. Bostic again is expected to clean up Mottley’s mess. No wonder he gone from highly liked Minister to frigging “ lame duck”.


    • How does Caswell have the upper hand? If he did why would the PM back away at the last minute after a third party agreed to mediate? A read of the situation suggests Mottley has decided to play the longer game. This is not a right or wrong situation, it is about how to achieve a win given the politics with government not nurses the main actor. You should also not the work environment as you knew it has transformed.

      Unfortunately emotional positions will take you so far.

      We live in interesting times.


  17. What would be interesting if for one of the other unions were to join with Unity in the ongoing action. If one is logical the concerns/greviances of Unity are the same for the BNA, NUPW and other unions. What we have here is the politics.

    #socialpartnership


  18. The Gods Are All Dead
    A friendly note to GP… Your God is not exempted.

    I promised to reply to a blogger, but so much time has passed that I have forgotten exactly what I should reply to. However, during the discussion some seed fell on good ground and so I will be able to hobble together some sort of a reply.

    I believe it was based o m y refutation of the claim that there was a ‘golden age of Bajan writers’. A few names were trotted out o show that the Bajan ‘authors’ of today were inferior to those of yesteryear.

    This has been the struggle of all generations. An older generation that criticizes the efforts of its youth. Or claims to be superior in some way. The most glaring example is the field of music. My generation can remember how rock was treated as it was being born The fact that much of its formation was in the music of the African American drew out the worst language that can be imagined. And what about rap. A cousin asked me to listen to a rap song and I was surprised at the quality of the lyrics, but yet I am unable to get over my bias against this type of music. This may be one part of the generation gap that we can never bridge; the claim of old farts that they are better in some way.

    I want to strongly assert that the Barbadian writers of yesteryear are no better than the writers of today.

    Those of yesterday had a smaller and on average a more educated audience. It seems to me that their audience would be mainly those who could afford or bought newspapers; the better-off and the more educated. What the web (internet) has done is to dilute the audience and the actors. Think of it as a cup of salt water being poured into a bucket of water. The concentration of salt water would be lesser, but if the water was evaporated so that only salt remains, you would find the same amount of crystal salt that was in the water. My claim is that we have more and better salt, but the internet has dilute it to such an extent that one has to search hard to find a true gem.

    Yes, the web has ‘diluted’ both the audience and the actors. Now ordinary Joe has access to information that was only available to a few. It is extremely hard for me to separate this claim of greater writers in the past, from a criticism of the ‘unlimited access’ that the great “unwashed’ now has to information. Indeed, a few BU bloggers took pains to point out that some of the unwashed who have access to the world wide web may not understand what they read. Let us hope that we do not return to the age where information resides in the hand of the few and is dolloped out when and to who they see as fit.

    BTW: Can you imagine, someone making a claim that the current group of politicians are better than those of the past. Barely a whisper would be heard if the claim was limited to the last administration, but to extend it further into the past would be met with great resistance. Of course, with current team spate of rushed legislation, the costly ‘plagiarized’ slogan, procurement of vaccines, doing business without divulging the business partners and continuing corruption only a few would make such a claim.

    The Gods are all dead; their time is past. Let them rest in peace. My hope and my confidence is in the current generation


  19. Mia did not back away from the meeting. Bostic was instructed not to proceed.
    If Mia was involved in the meeting from the beginning, the conditions would have been laid out and Caswell would have agreed before an announcement was made. To announce a meeting and then change or require new conditions is backwards at best.

    Caswell said Bostic cancelled the meeting after he (Bostic) gave Mia the heads up and she demanded that the nurses guh back tuh wuk fust, and Caswell seh not fuh shite, or something so.

    But I din deh so don’t seh dat I seh.
    Uh beg yuh please.


  20. My spellcheck and proofing failed me.
    The Gods Are All Dead
    A friendly note to GP… Your God is not exempted.

    I promised to reply to a blogger, but so much time has passed that I have forgotten exactly what I should reply to. However, during the discussion some seeds fell on good ground and so I will be able to hobble together some sort of a reply.

    I believe it was based on my refutation of the claim that there was a ‘golden age of Bajan writers’. A few names were trotted out to show that the Bajan ‘authors’ of today were inferior to those of yesteryear.

    This has been the struggle of all generations. An older generation that criticizes the efforts of its youth or claims to be superior in some way. The most glaring example is the field of music. My generation can remember how rock was treated as it was being born. The fact that much of its formation was in the music of African Americans drew out the worst criticisms/language that can be imagined. And what about rap. A cousin asked me to listen to a rap song and I was surprised at the quality of the lyrics, but yet I am unable to get over my bias against this type of music. This may be one part of the generation gap that we can never bridge; the claim of old farts that they are better in some way.

    I want to strongly assert that the Barbadian writers of yesteryear are no better than the writers of today.

    Those of yesterday had a smaller and on average a more educated audience. It seems to me that their audience would be mainly those who could afford or bought newspapers; the better-off and the more educated. What the web (internet) has done is to dilute the audience and the actors. Think of it as a cup of salt water being poured into a bucket of water. The concentration of salt water would be lesser, but if the water was evaporated so that only salt remains, you would find the same amount of crystal salt that was in the cup. My claim is that we have more and better salt, but the internet has diluted it to such an extent that one has to search hard to find a true gem.

    Yes, the web has ‘diluted’ both the audience and the actors. Now ordinary Joe has access to information that was only available to a few. It is extremely hard for me to separate this claim of greater writers in the past, from a criticism of the ‘unlimited access’ that the great “unwashed’ now has to information. Indeed, a few BU bloggers took pains to point out that some of the unwashed who have access to the world wide web may not understand what they read. Let us hope that we do not return to the age where information resides in the hand of the few and is dolloped out when and to who they see as fit.

    BTW: Can you imagine, someone making a claim that the current group of politicians are better than those of the past. Barely a whisper would be heard if the claim was limited to the last administration, but to extend it further into the past would be met with great resistance. Of course, with current team spate of rushed legislation, the costly ‘plagiarized’ slogan, procurement of vaccines, doing business without divulging business partners and continuing corruption only a few bloggers would make such a claim.

    The Gods are all dead. Their time is past. My hope and my confidence is in the current generation


  21. @Raw Bake
    “The mere fact that Bostic, the supposed Minister of Health cannot set his own agenda is enlightening to say the least. Colonel Bostic may have once been a soldier, but he now appears to be even less than a cub scout. Seems like the soldier has retreated and surrendered, and an eunuch now leads the Ministry.

    It is time to do the most honourable thing, Lieutenant Colonel.”

    I tasted the batter and it seems that we will have and excellent batch of bates.

    When one adds the vaccine fiasco to his list of accomplishment General “Bosstic” from the Ministry of Integrity is headed towards the Ministry of Absurdity. It is great regret, that even faster than a rat, I must abandon this sinking ship.


  22. “Where can you site the convention or aged old practice that workers go back to work when both sides “ agree” to meet. Workers go back to work when an agreement is reached “

    Striking is a tool to facilitate negotiations, if results of negotiations are deemed unsatisfactory, then striking is one option available, but nursing is deemed a critical and essential service during a pandemic and nurses are contractually and morally obliged to provide service and health care services still need to be covered during strikes.

    To be frank Franklyn is playing with fire and is going to get burned.

    Simplest solution to deal with minority strikers is to terminate their employment.

    When It’s Over


  23. On a wicket that taking pace, spin bowler J2 is struggling badly.
    Even Lorenzo knows to wait until there is a lull in the bowling and make an appearance.
    Take a break my friend.
    The good news…. BU renown Pace bowler is absent.
    The bad news … the good news will not last

    —-x—–
    Have a great Day! All!


  24. It appears that there is a new Minster of Health and the individual with the title is a mere marionette, remember the famous letter signed by his PS that he didn’t know about? Now things are becoming clearer no wonder he is retiring from politics, if it was cricket, we would probably say he is retiring hurt.

    Bajans memory short and dey heads hard, Mia said that all things flow through her and wunnah fuhget already, she has another portfolio, stop working de woman so hard.


    • @Sargeant

      It is nothing new serious IR matters are seldom resolved by the Labour Department and Labour minister. Always the prime minister is the arbiter of last resort.


  25. @David
    So why the charade of Caswell meeting with the Min. of Health? Caswell should insist on meeting with the PM but she would probably decline.

    BTW your statement about “aged old convention” doesn’t hold water as the Minister met with the BNA not with representatives of the striking workers, how can they go back to work if they are not party to any agreement and only know what they read in the Press.


  26. There is no aged old convention of strikers abandoning a strike before an agreement has been reached. How would that even make sense? You have a problem at work which causes the workers to strike and to discuss it with the management the strikers have to go back into the situation that made them strike in the first place with no agreement that the problems will be resolved. Makes no sense. The agreement is meant to lead to the end of the strike because the problem has been resolved. Secondly, how can the government dock nurses’ pay for days they already worked?


    • @Sargeant

      Those familiar with IR tactics in Barbados know there is a process that must be danced through – that same old convention again.

      Unfortunately Caswell is not a dominant union neither does he control the unionized membership. The government will exhaust all avenues to break this matter.


  27. The more I read these comments , the more I realise why we are in such a quagmire at all levels.
    I said a few days ago that some of us will pretend we are for Caswell but at the end of the day will drive a knife into his heart to protect their leader , party and government.
    In the meantime they can’t wait for the nurses to return to their horrible working conditions; and Caswell to be mortally wounded , so that they can come here on BU and elsewhere and declare victory.
    Call it an “ emotional” response if you so wish but it is the blasted truth.
    I want a victory for the workers and the Unity union to keep up the fight on behalf of all their workers but I am here just wondering : who the Duopoly will attempt to destroy next.
    First they came for Caswell; then they came for……………,,,,


  28. @ William Skinner December 26, 2021 12:55 PM

    “to protect their leader, party and government”.

    Without any doubt, our government must now show all-size toughness and retaliate brutally. I hope our Supreme Leader is as successful as Thatcher in crushing the totally illegal miners’ strike of 1984/85. We must turn back the wheel of history to crush any germ of rebellion. 1937 must remain a glitch in the system.


    • @Wiliam

      You are spouting an emotional response per usual. Almost all Bajans if asked will support nurses being paid better blah blah. Is that the issue on the table when you add the political advantage being fought for?


  29. Now this is a man who spent his whole life fighting human rights abuses and apartheid and all the EVIL thrown at Afrikan people, now we are fighting it coming from those who look like us, everyone with your skin is NOT YOUR KIN..

    never mind all the crap talk about “this is not who we are”…it’s all a scam coming from human rights abusers

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/a-man-of-words-and-action-tributes-paid-to-desmond-tutu-following-death/ar-AAS9qh4?ocid=msedgntp


  30. @ David
    Apparently when I submit anything with which you don’t agree I am emotional. It’s a tool used by white people to silence blacks. It’s from the Massa’s playbook. So, it means nothing to me. Just letting you know that.
    Peace.


  31. “Apartheid was contemptible – as anyone without a malfunctioning moral compass knew in their soul”

    and IS STILL IN Barbados aka RoB…over half century later.

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/archbishop-desmond-tutu-s-death-should-remind-us-to-stand-up-to-oppressors-even-when-they-re-on-our-side/ar-AAS9R17?ocid=msedgntp

    The blighted, cursed plight of the wannabe dictators/slave masters:

    “It was scary to see how the new ministers so quickly donned the old clothes of their predecessors, he said as hopes of profound change were extinguished amid a tide of complacency and corruption.”

    the dumb will NEVER LEARN:

    “When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognising the humanity in others.”


  32. @ WURA
    Nothing new here, they do it all the time. That’s why I call them: Propagandists, apologists and obstructionists. What amazes me to no end, is the belief they have that no one sees through their dastardly intentions.
    As recently as Friday, Caswell publicly stated that a settlement was around the corner and then he’s told that the “ Prime Minister” moved the goal posts .
    So we have a frigging apologist coming here trying to lecture people on industrial relations , when it is obvious that the government was bent on negotiating in bad faith.


  33. My position remains the same. The last few years have shown me how susceptible people are to baseless conspiracy theories pushed by the internet. The more ridiculous, the better.

    My hope too remains with the youth but we need more rational discourse. We have a few writers who are capable but we used to have more.

    We have to find a way to reach those who have tuned out to it.

    Many are rightly untrusting of government but have become prone to believe anything anybody else says against government, whether it makes sense or not.


  34. @ Donna
    I read to day that Granville’s father has an autobiography out; Sir Richard Cheltenham has a bio coming: a guy Clarke ( former ambassador to China has his out; Sir Charles published his, so there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel where the youth may have some books to read.
    However, I agree you that the large volume of junk on the internet cannot be easily navigated and our young people should have exposure to more rational writers.


  35. Correction – prone to believing.

    But wait – wasn’t Desmond Tutu an ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP??????

    Wunnah too funny, doah!

    Oh dear me!


  36. @Skinner, there is surely a lot to learn (possibly) from these bios of which u speak… fact is though that for every wonderful ‘inside story’ there is quite a bit NOT said.

    But at least Bajan elite are now keen on penning their memoirs … 1) some people do that to settle scores (the lawyer tome was such); 2) some obviously to make money; 3) others to enhance their legacy or remodel a historical narrative and 4) then there are the ones who go for the jugular to lay bare what was really behind the scenes!

    Of those you mentioned above I can imagine 2 and 3 full stop.

    Our recollectuons of the past need some 1’s leading to 4’s, too … not necessarily to destroy anyone’s reputation but just to set some records straight.

    All that said it would be quite interesting to read a REAL ‘accounting’ from the original GP on how he bestrode the Bajan financial circles in his role as a Liquidator etc and too the legal eagle Cheltenham.

    I gone.


  37. Caswell’s militant politics isn’t going to achieve resolution for any nurses situations
    but will help him set up his stall for an election


  38. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, acclaimed FREEDOM FIGHTER AND ANGLICAN CHIEF!

    I would hate to think that he taught the children “the wrong things” like a slave -minded, unintelligent Sunday School teacher from Barbados!

    Murdaaah!

    And that is why I am on the blog! To catch your stupid ass out with your shite talk!

    To balance extremist poop with reasonableness.

    And that is why you could cuss me all day long, every damn day but you could NEVER shut me up!

    TOO FAR EAST IS WEST.

    SOMEBODY must stick around to save the youth from your crazy ass.


  39. Some people are incapable of compartmentalizing…TUTU WAS A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST…he did not force the anglican CRAP on himself…..it was FORCED ON THE WORLD..

    you did not live in the times when false religion was FORCED down their throats, and should do some research.

    young people need saving from the DUMB and BACKWARD…even on BU….

    young people are now fighting for their lives, and survival and have a wannabe dictator forcing a pre 1966 SLAVERY CONSTITUTION into their lives to keep another generation trapped, to drive them deeper into poverty and OPPRESSION….and thefts of their opportunities and future, think about that you ignorant ass… am not the one doing it…..and YOU CONTINUE TO HIGHTLIGHT the description of yourself…

    ignorance will destroy you..

    bad mind and jealousy got you TWISTED….while am here MINDING MY BUSINESS….ah got more than enuff to mind….and you CANNOT STOP ME.


  40. I miss Pacha…hope you are back soon, ya finding fewer and fewer intelligent people to discourse with on BU…


  41. gotta go into writing mode soon…Pacha…if ya watching, got a brand new title

    and BU needs to take control of its AIRHEADS, they are an embarrassment..

    or not, they are the ones looking dumber every day…not me, i actually contribute something positive here, there and everywhere..


  42. It was the right decision shutting down the blog option on my websites, as much as i would like to have some people from BU on it, because of their abilities to rationally analyze and critically think through various subjects….they know who they are…

    but….that also comes with those who are DUMB AS ROCKS…and some feel they need all types of opinions to make it work, but i could never do such a disservice to the young to have the same bunch of old ass people in their 50s, 60s and 70s day after day, being that uneducated and backward spouting shit to mislead the young to CAUSE THEIR DEATHS, DESTRUCTION and 21ST CENTURY ENSLAVEMENT..

    …i could never live with myself…


  43. How many comments is that addressing De Irrelevant Cuntry Cunt?

    Your rebuttal makes no sense whatsoever but it was fun to watch you twist yourself into a pretzel from which you cannot extricate yourself.

    😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

    I don’t expect any of your cheerleadering clique to point that out. They only love to come at me. A perfect display of what ails our society. They pick sides and run with it, no matter how ridiculous. Pray tell, how is that different from the dishonesty of the yardfowls?

    You want back The Royal Wee? Yuh tink I frighten fuh he frequent flier folly?

    When he gets back from saving the world from EMPIRE please inform him that the Barbados Revolutionary Coffers are under attack from the newly installed massas known as the Executive of one Credit Union Movement!

    Animal Farm again!

    Just like De Cuntry Cunt knew it would be.

    And around and around they go…and where they will stop, NOBODY KNOWS!

    BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER STOP!

    There will never be a revolution to end all revolutions! Human nature simply will never allow it!

    So….I will enjoy my life, content to push for gradual reform.

    Takes more time but is easier to maintain.

    Put De Cuntry Cunt name pon dat!


  44. Since ya too dumb to feel shame…it LEAVES ME STILL ON TOP…

    just try not to tief any content…ya too dumb to do otherwise…

    no one cares about your simple UNINFORMED soon ending life..

    we care about the YOUNG AFRIKAN MEN AND WOMEN losing theirs, losing their freedom, being set up for a life of enslavement….and FAILURE….

    you are useless….and on ya way out…..ya can’t even show what ya have achieved, but trying to atttack ME WHO HAVE ACHIEVES SO MUCH IN 9 YEARS…

    they just got here….and confronted with the EVIL OF SLAVERY coming from black trash….that is who we have to care about, not some old woman trying to become relevant on a blog and don’t have the tools to succeed.


  45. you, you, you, not every comment is for or about you, i was planning to put at least 3 of those comments out there anyway….but since ya were pimping attention, had to tell ya about yaself….public nuisance..


  46. @ DPD
    The fascinating thing about reading bios and auto bios, is what isn’t written. So any great bio/auto carries the alert reader to the “ what if” place.
    You are absolutely correct.


  47. I understand cow’s bio only served to underscore what a nasty piece of work he was…..no great loss, the earth breathed a sigh of relief…i won’t waste the time or money reading bios of racists thieves and frauds..

    plenty of bios of decent people out there to read…no need to go slumming ..


  48. It is clear that people do not have a full understanding of human rights, human rights violations and human rights activists or they would have a much better understanding of what Tutu, Mandela and others were subjected to under the dirty boer apartheid rule, hell, they don’t even understand the half century of human rights violations in Barbados….so it’s a stretch that they would understand much else…part of the reason you get so many undereducated clowns jumping out to show up themselves….

    .BU is not a human rights blog….it’s geared more toward the narrow politics and religion….all colonial created and manufactured… and that can never get anyone far, especially if it’s the only platform ya troll all day, every week, every month and every year……

    unless you have access to the information to get a better handle on what is required……ya just spinning top in mud, and am not sharing, yall are too dumb…and i have shared more than enuff on BU without being asked…hence, there are other platforms created for those who lean more toward human rights rather than the go nowhere politics and religion….ya can search and find them yaself..

    Desmond Tutu worked with what he had, he has a noble peace prize…where is yours…, he taught people who still sing his praises, no one ever heard about you, and i never heard he molested anyone’s child, if that is what ya were hinting with ya sick, muddled, confused seesawing brain self.


  49. Yes, she did for January 19th and she better make the nurses right before the end of this week or all the nasty, unfair practices they subjecting the nurses to will come to light.


  50. More comments aimed at De Irrelevant, none of which served to untwist you from the pretzel position.

    You repeat your UNPROVEN lie that nobody believes about stolen content and declare yourself the victor, boasting of such magnificent feats as defeating De Irrelevant!

    🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Yuh tink yuh name Captain Pichard of
    “Make it so” fame. Dis is not science fiction.

    But… enough fun for the day! Like The Terminator, “I’ll be back!”

    Yuh too funny doah!

    😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂


  51. I trust that the BU people all had a great Christmas.

    @TheOGazerts December 24, 2021 6:17 AM “Hey, any ideas?”

    I saw this late, but for Christmas ’22 try art and or books…for the good woman who already has everything


  52. human rights are just basic fundamental rights for all humans

    white cunts from hell classified non-whites as sub humans in their legal loophole justification to feel morally better

    no true activist would forgive the swine


  53. Well…there will be tons of material to publish and write about…

    .Pacha …come out….lol


  54. Jesus said the The Holy Sound of AUM (OM) aka the Sound of the Universe aka the Cosmic sound was the Great Comforter

    Aum (the “Word” of the Bible) is God the Holy Ghost, Invisible Vibratory Power, the direct creator and activator of all creation.
    Tat (“That”) is God the Son, the Christ or Kutastha Cosmic Intelligence actively present in all creation.
    Sat (“Being, Truth”) is God the Father, beyond creation, existing in vibrationless unchangeability.

    The Unmanifested, The Infinite, the Changeless Spirit is called Para-Brahman: the One Absolute. But during the cycles of manifestation, the Nameless and Formless is described as Aum-Tat-Sat (or, of Sat-Tat-Aum)—so designated by the ancient sages. In the Christian Bible Sat-Tat-Aum is spoken of as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

    “Aum-Tat-Sat” is considered to be the triple designation of Brahman (God). By this power were created, in the beginning, the Brahmins (knowers of Brahman), the Vedas, and the sacrificial rites. — The Bhagavad Gita XVII:23

    He who knows Aum (Om) knows God


  55. We need an election thread on the blog.

    Dim mak aka the touch of death refers to any martial arts technique reputed to kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body.

    It is a one horse race

    Mia is a master of the arts like DLP and Barbados Solutions are still slaves to the game.

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